The present invention relates to a rotary brush sweeper including a debris pan that automatically disengages from the sweeper upon being snagged by an obstacle.
Rotary brush sweepers include debris pans for collection of debris that is swept into the pans by the rotary brush. Particularly when a sweeper is used in an outdoor environment, where obstructions, such as rocks, cracked sidewalk or pavement are frequently present on a surface to be cleaned, the debris pan of the sweeper may become snagged on an obstruction. It is undesirable for the entire sweeper to consequently come to an abrupt stop. An unpleasant and potentially harmful shock is then imparted to the user and the debris pan may be cracked or bent by the impact. Furthermore, the mounting, dismounting and remounting of a debris pan is typically a cumbersome process and may involve lifting or tipping the sweeper.
To effectively collect dirt from an uneven surface, as in an outdoor environment, the entrance to the debris pan, into which the brush sweeps the dirt, should desirably remain near the ground. Prior sweeper debris pans do not enable this. Also, brush height adjustment is desirable and this too is not easy with many prior sweeper debris pans.